Holiday parties are thrown throughout the month of December to celebrate the reason for the season, to deck the halls, or to jingle some bells. While these events can be fun, they can be hard to navigate when you are sober. You may associate the holidays with drinking, but you can get through them staying sober by following some simple pointers.
Offer to help out the host.
Keep yourself busy while you are at a holiday party. There is always things to do for set up, keep up, and set down for the duration of a party. Offer your assistance to the host and be of service.
BYOC
Bring Your Own Cup to protect yourself from other people’s mistaken drink identity. When you are at a holiday party that has alcohol being served, oversights can made. One way to safeguard your sobriety is to have a cup that is all yours to keep any confusion from happening.
Mingle with someone new.
Putting yourself out there to fraternize with someone that you have not yet met, can be the very thing that can break the ice with other attendees of the party. The point of a holiday party is to socialize and even though you are sober, you can still be the life of the party.
Whoop it up – sober.
You can dance if you want to and be as silly as you feel like being because no one will be none the wiser. Either they will be too buzzed to know the difference, or you will be amongst your sober friends who probably could care less about your behavior anyways and just want to join in.
Hang out around the food.
Have yourself a merry little cheese ball or some traditional fruitcake in lieu of drinking. You will be able to enjoy your food and maybe start a conversation about the history behind each of the holiday food traditions.
Take a break.
If you start feeling uncomfortable, go outside or into the bathroom and take some time for yourself. During this break, use your time to breathe, practice mindfulness, or call someone to express your fears.
Holidays parties can be a tough experience for many people, especially for someone who is sober. Trying to hobnob and fit in can be difficult to do sober for the first time. Your best bet is to show up and have a holly jolly time.
Serenity Oaks Wellness Center is a partial-care treatment center that uses many different modalities to motivate and assist our clientele. Our medical and clinical approach can assist a loved one with drug and alcohol addiction. Our staff is here to help point you in the right direction.
Call us today: 844-720-6847
